Greenbirder

Promise of Produce

This season is coming along well. We have a few courgettes already (early) and this weekend we noticed the first flowers on the young aubergines and pepper plants. The beans are starting to scramble up the poles and there are green tomatoes. The orchard was checked over and the apple trees that had been ring-barkedContinue reading “Promise of Produce”

The Fritz Orchard

After yesterday’s rain much of this morning’s gardening was devoted to group bonding and chatting alongside the basics of a bit of weeding and tomato side-shoot removal etc. This gave time to have a good look at the state of the orchard which is standing up very well. Back in the spring we had foundContinue reading “The Fritz Orchard”

Planting Day!!

Around a dozen worker-volunteers arrived this morning ahead of the heatwave and possible thunderstorms to plant out several hundred tomato, pepper, aubergine, cucumber and courgettes plants at the garden. The irrigation system is almost all up and working. There just remains now some weeks of careful maintenance, weeding, pinching out, watering and waiting for theContinue reading “Planting Day!!”

Keep Saturday 5 June Free

26 May – we had a good morning doing general maintenance tasks at the garden today with eight volunteers weeding, planting more onions and mulching fruit trees while other worked at spreading wood chips on the access paths. The next two work parties (Saturday 29 May and Wednesday 2 June) will mostly be more ofContinue reading “Keep Saturday 5 June Free”

First Tomatoes and Onions

This morning 16+ volunteers of all ages descended on the garden (all fully masked by the way) and continued getting things under way. We planted 30 beautiful tomato plants kindly grown for us and donated by a couple of town youngsters – Elrik and Egan Armas – and a long row of onions went inContinue reading “First Tomatoes and Onions”

Community Effort

This morning some 25 members of the community of all ages came together at the garden to make a start on opening it for the summer 2021 season. Huge THANKS to everyone who appeared – with your contributions we got much further ahead than we expected. Thye tomato stakes are in place and the groundContinue reading “Community Effort”

“We Plough the Fields and Harrow … “

Mike from the Mac Farm came with his tractor this afternoon and tilled the garden. We don’t actually plough the land, that goes far too deep and brings up clay, but till the top few inches to give a good with for planting. We also found that a sheet of “geotex”, the felted variety, onContinue reading ““We Plough the Fields and Harrow … “”

Season Start – Saturday 15 May

It looks like the gods are smiling and we will be able to open the garden on Saturday 15 May First thing – we will be observing the basic covid health protocols. Bring a mask to wear if you cannot avoid getting too close to other volunteers. Try to observe the usual social distancing procedureContinue reading “Season Start – Saturday 15 May”

Easy Work for Gardeners This Week

One day this week the tractor from the campus farm will arrive to plough and till the land ready for us to move in next Saturday. But the creeping charley and the dandelions and their friends are invading already and it would good if as few of them as possible could be removed so thereContinue reading “Easy Work for Gardeners This Week”

Opening the Garden – 2021

Given some nice weather in the next couple of weeks so that the site can be ploughed and tilled we plan to hold our first volunteer work party on Saturday 15 May starting at 9am. The opening season dates are as follows – if you have given us your name as a volunteer or wouldContinue reading “Opening the Garden – 2021”